


The Game We Play (can lead to victory)

by justfandomthings



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Case Fic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22668307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justfandomthings/pseuds/justfandomthings
Summary: An undercover op has Danny acting as bait for a robber who drugs his victims first, while Steve worries about his partner's safety.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 21
Kudos: 267





	The Game We Play (can lead to victory)

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place before 10x14.
> 
> Trigger warning for mentioned and attempted non-consensual drug use and alluding to assault and battery (not present in the story).

_"Okay, can someone please explain to me why I'm going undercover and not, say, Junior? Or Steve?"_

_"Hey!" Lou objected. "What am I, chopped liver?"_

_"Okay, you too. I'll say it again, why- out of all of us- am I being put under as bait for this guy? It's not like blondes are his established type, so I don't think it's a good idea to use me."_

_"Why not?" Tani asked, almost in unison with Steve._

_"Never mind," Danny sighed, but he dismissed his line of questioning too quickly for Steve's liking; it wasn't like Danny to give up so quickly and that made him wonder what Danny was trying to keep to himself. "So I go undercover, which is still odd by the way, and wait for our guy to come along. Then what?"_

_"Play it out, do what he expects to happen. Pretend to drink your drink, pretend to have the drug in your system and when he leads you outside to rob you, we'll be there waiting."_

_"Uh huh." Danny narrowed his eyes at Steve. "Is someone else gonna be in this bar with me or am I going in solo?"_

_"I'm going in," Steve answered instantly. "You really think I wouldn't have your back?"_

_"I think this is a bad idea, but let's run with it," Danny sighed. "I'll go get ready."_

_Steve watched Danny walk away with a frown on his face. Danny was an attractive guy, unfairly so, most of the time. Any person would find their attention captured by him easily. So why did Danny think their op- which included capturing the attention of their suspect, aka, a guy looking to 'pick a guy up' just so he could rob him- would go sideways?_

"You know, we might have had more luck if Junior had done this," Danny murmured as he brought his glass to his lips and pretended to take a sip of his scotch. "We coulda been home already, ya know?" 

"Drink your scotch and stop talking," Steve responded, taking a small sip of his beer from where he sat at the corner booth, taking in the crowd of people in the bar. "It's only been two hours, give it some time." 

"Two hours sat at this bar pretending to slowly drink my scotch alone is a long time, Steven." 

"You saying you're not enjoying my company?" 

Danny glowered at his drink as he brought it to his lips and once again pretended to take a sip. "You being a voice in my ear does not make you someone in my company. Company means being present, physically, someone I can see and talk to in person. Not someone I am trying to talk to discretely through an earpiece." 

"Would you rather I come up to you and act like the fourth person tonight to try and pick you up, unsuccessfully, might I add?" 

"Would you rather I sent everyone on their way with my number instead of the classic, 'I'm waiting for someone?'" Danny retorted. "I _am_ waiting for someone, you might recall." 

"Guys, can you stop bickering like a married couple for two minutes so Danny can stop pretending to drink his scotch?" Quinn interrupted. "No one's going to approach if he's busy drinking his sorrows away." 

"Except I'm not, I'm just faking it," Danny muttered. 

"Same thing!" 

"Isn't he cutting it a little late? His time frame for all of his attacks is between ten and twelve-thirty and it's almost midnight, boss," Tani pointed out. 

"He _has_ targeted the same bar four times. It's possible he decided to find a different bar, to not try his luck too many times," Junior suggested. 

"Let's play it out until one," Steve decided. "If he doesn't show, we'll regroup, reassess different bars in the area, and split our resources tomorrow night." 

"Hey, Danny, you've actually got someone approaching on your eight," Tani informed over the earpiece, frowning as she captured a picture of the man approaching Danny from the security cam footage and sent it through facial recognition. 

Steve narrowed his eyes a little at the man who made a sly pass and took a seat next to his partner. _"What's a good looking man like yourself doing drinking alone,"_ please. Steve could have come up with a more creative line. 

Not to mention, Danny deserved a more creative line than the easiest one in the book. 

Though if the man was who they thought he was, then he was a predator and a robber to boot so really, it was no wonder his one-liners sucked. 

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone but they haven't showed," Danny responded to the man's opening line, giving him a quick once-over, Steve noticed, before smiling a little and saying, "though if he's made me wait this long, I guess he isn't worth it, is he?" 

"I could show you a better time," the man agreed. "My name is Jake, is it okay if I buy you a drink?" 

"I haven't finished my scotch yet but if you can keep my interest until I do, then yes, you can buy me a drink." Even from the far corner where he was sitting, Steve could see the grin on Danny's face. He could also hear the interest in Danny's voice over the earpiece; Danny was good, he'd give him that. Playing hard to get too. 

"You play a hard game, I can respect that." Steve nearly groaned at the comment from _Jake._ He already didn't like this guy. "I think I'll do a whiskey." 

"Not bad, but scotch is better." 

"Oh really? Well, I think you're mistaken, whiskey is better." 

"Oh, trust me, scotch is the clear better choice." 

"And just what makes you the king of fine liquors?" 

Danny shrugged. "I've got good taste." He eyed Jake in a way that made Steve almost break the bottle he was holding in his fist. "Good taste in men too, apparently, even if his taste in liquor _is_ a little questionable." 

"Boss, you're gonna want to lose the death stare if you want to keep your cover of a guy looking for a hookup. Otherwise you just look like a jealous ex about to cause a scene because his former love is about to get some," Tani said over the earpiece. 

Steve felt his face warm a little at her words. "Duly noted, Tani." 

"Facial rec came back on your friend Jake," Quinn interrupted. "His name is Jake Hampton, got a rap sheet for possession, burglary, and a report about a domestic case, though the charges were dropped against him." 

With her and Tani both taking control of the earpiece, Steve had lost track of Danny's conversation with Jake, aka Hampton, their new suspect. It was unnerving to have lost that minute of conversation and potentially to have slipped up on watching Danny's back, even if he and his wannabe ~~lover~~ robber were sitting at the bar still. 

"-game?" 

"I'm from the mainland, ask me about any sport and I could talk for hours," Danny responded to whatever the question was that had been posed. Steve glanced at the TV screen and made his presumption just as Danny said, "I take it you're a baseball fan too?" 

"What can I say, men in tight pants bent over to swing a bat makes for an appealing visual experience." 

Danny laughed in unison with Steve grimacing. 

"You should try wrestling some time." 

"You see that, that right there?" Hampton pointed at the TV to Danny's left. "Now that's nice." 

Danny turned to observe the pitcher winding up and smooth as could be, Hampton slipped something in his drink. 

"Danny-" a chorus of voices rang out over the earpiece in warning, Steve's heart leaping in his chest. He knew they had talked about this beforehand, had talked about what would happen and how far they were gonna let it play out, and he thought he was okay for this… But seeing in person someone slip something into Danny's drink, knowing what that meant and what this man intended to do; it took all of Steve's energy not to stand up right there and wrestle the asshole to the ground and maybe even get in a couple of good hits. 

And just as planned, Danny turned back to Hampton, made a comment about the baseball game, and took a sip of his drink. 

"We're in position across the street from the alley," Lou informed everyone. "The second he takes this outside, we've got him." 

"Let it play out," Steve ground out, feeling very much like not letting it play out. He should have listened to Danny's pleadings to not be the inside man and should have done it himself. It was better that way, allowed him to better take care of his team that way. In every scenario no matter the outcome, he'd rather be the one 'waiting for his date' who got picked up by a creepy bastard. Not Danny. 

There was laughter over the earpiece, which pulled him away from his thoughts. Hampton's hand was on Danny's thigh, his face close to Danny's and getting closer by the second… 

And Danny threw out a line of his own. "You wouldn't want to get out of here, would you?" 

Hampton gave him a filthy grin and accepted, taking Danny's hand and pulling him towards the front door of the bar after dropping money on the counter for the drinks. 

"They're headed outside," Steve murmured, jumping up and following them as they moved towards the door, careful to keep them in his line of sight but not close enough to get made. 

"We're ready for them," Junior promised. 

The front door opened and closed as they disappeared outside. Steve picked up his pace, hurriedly making his way through the crowd towards the door. 

"Steve, he's got a gun," Lou warned suddenly. "I saw him reach for it as he took Danny into the alley." 

"Okay, that's enough," Hampton said, his voice suddenly hard and rude in a way it hadn't been when he'd been trying to 'pick up' Danny. "Get away, against the wall, right now." 

"Boss-" 

"Steve-"

Steve's heart was pounding nearly out of his chest and he could hear Lou and Junior trying to get his attention to figure out when they were moving in, but all Steve could focus on was Danny's breathing. He was breathing heavier than he had been before, which was worrying. _Had he drank that much?_ Steve fretted, pulling out his own weapon as he finally made it outside. 

"Get against the wall," Hampton's voice filled the line. "Don't make me say it again. No, no, turn away from me. Get against the wall with your back to me. Do it." 

Steve got to the corner of the alley and flattened himself against the wall, inching to leap into action the second Hampton incriminated himself. _They were so close but not close enough, not yet._

In his peripheral, he saw Lou disappear into the bar, probably intended to go out the back way as Junior joined him at the other side of the alley entrance. 

"What's this, what's going on?" Danny asked, his voice sounding off, panicked a little. Steve couldn't tell if he was acting or if it was genuine. 

"It's called, I know who you are and what you were doing in that bar. You were looking for me, you wanted to _get_ me. And now you've got me, just like I've got you all by yourself, no one here to back you up..." 

"In position," Lou said. 

"Boss," Junior whispered, "we going?" 

"Wait," Steve murmured, even though he felt nearly sick with worry as Danny's breathing started increasing over the earpiece like he was borderline panicking. 

"You know what, get down. I'm gonna change it up a bit. Get on the ground and give me your wallet." 

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm going, okay. Calm down." 

"Steve, Danny's on the ground, completely vulnerable," Quinn warned. 

"Wait," Steve whispered. 

Hampton laughed cruelly. "You're not even going to try and stop me? Arrest me? That's right, _detective,_ I know who you are." Steve's heart stopped at the confession and somehow managed to restart just as Hampton went on, "I've seen you do press conferences with your partner before, or are you that stupid? You didn't think I'd recognize you, that I'd just see you sitting alone in the bar and willingly pick you up? Let's be honest here, you're not all that good looking, I could have done better with anyone else in that bar, but I chose you- not because you're a good choice, but because I get to take out one of 5-0. And that's, well, that's a good day." 

"You're not going to take me out," Danny slurred. "'M team is right here…" 

"Yeah, where? I don't see them, you lying fuck!"

"Steve! Hampton just drew his gun and-"

Steve was moving before Tani could finish her sentence. "5-0! Don't move!" he shouted, gun up as he approached, Junior on his heels. 

Hampton turned to look at him, keeping his gun trained on Danny, who was sprawled on his stomach on the ground. 

"I was hoping you'd show up," Hampton said, giving Steve a crazed grin. 

"Put the gun down," Steve demanded. "Danny, you okay?" 

But Danny lay still, _had stopped moving_. 

Hampton laughed at him. "You weren't expecting me to blow his cover, were you? Never mind the fact I knew he was 5-0 from the news, no one would ever try to pick him up at the bar. Shoulda picked that one-" pointing his gun at Junior, "or even yourself to do the job instead. Or, anyone else really." 

"If I have to tell you again, I'm going to put you on the ground. Put your gun down," Steve ordered, pointing his gun center mass. 

The back door creeped open slowly, carefully, as Lou seemed to try and make a quiet entrance without capturing Hampton's attention. 

"I'm not so worried. You should be, though," Hampton grinned, lowering his hand with his gun and aiming at Danny's-

Steve raised his hand and fired, shooting Hampton in the shoulder. He shouted in pain, nearly dropping his weapon as he stumbled back several feet. "You point your gun again or so much as move in the next thirty seconds and the next one will be in your head," Steve warned, his voice hard. "Junior-" 

Lou stepped into the alleyway and disarmed Hampton as Junior rushed forward and snapped the cuffs on him. Steve spared them only a glance to make sure they were good before he dropped to his knees next to Danny's prone form, demanding anxiously, "Danny? Are you okay? Partner, can you hear me?" 

"What the hell do you want?" Danny griped, lifting his head. "Can't a guy pretend to be drugged in peace?" 

Steve cupped his cheek in his hand as he helped Danny roll over and sit up. "Are you okay?" he demanded, staring at his partner with wide, terrified eyes. "I thought we agreed you weren't going to actually drink the scotch!" 

"I didn't!" Danny said a little defensively, giving Steve a pointed look. "I just got through saying I was faking, weren't you listening to me? I was playing along, waiting for Jake-McAsshole-Hampton over here to incriminate himself. And it worked too, didn't it?" 

"You were faking?" Steve stared at Danny as they stood up together. "What the hell! I thought you were seriously down!" 

Danny laughed. "No. Babe, we went through this before we went in; I promised you I would be safe, remember? And somehow, drinking a scotch that has a date rape drug in it is _not_ my idea of safe." He turned to Hampton. "By the way, drugging people so you can rob them because they're too weak to fight you off is a dick move." 

Hampton sneered at him. "Shut the fuck up. I should have copped a-" 

Steve, having figured out where that sentence was going the second Hampton started speaking, took several steps forward and was swinging his fist before anyone else had the chance to react or to try and stop him.

"You have the right to remain silent so I suggest you use it," he snapped, whirling on the spot and walking away. "And for the record, Danny is a catch and you're crazy for thinking otherwise." _Asshole._

"That's police brutality!" Hampton yelled at his back. 

"You've drugged and assaulted people, all so you could make a few bucks. And you threatened my partner three times; you're lucky I didn't shoot you in the chest!" Steve called, not looking back as he stormed away. 

He made it all the way to the Camaro before Danny caught up with him. "Steve, what the hell was that?" Danny demanded. "You can't just punch someone when we have them in custody!" 

"He's lucky that's all I did," Steve muttered darkly, leaning against the Camaro. "He deserved worse." 

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can punch him!" 

"So, what? I'm supposed to just stand there and listen to him threaten and insult you?" 

"Yeah, kinda! He's just like any other bad guy, someone we ignore when they spew bullshit so we can make sure we tie the case up with a nice little bow! Cause if we react then we're putting the case at jeopardy! You know that!" 

"He threatened you three times!" Steve ground out. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened to anyone on this team, let alone if anything happened to you…" 

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You're not always going to be able to protect us, babe. Stuff happens. That's part of this job. We're gonna get shot, get beat up, get threatened, wait-" Danny stated at Steve. "Why do I have to tell you this? You've been doing this for ten years. Why now?" 

"Why now what?" Steve muttered, not meeting Danny's eyes. 

"Why is this impacting you so hard? We've been in undercover situations before, a lot worse of undercover situations too. What's so bad about this one, why's it got you so rattled?" 

Steve shrugged, making an effort to avoid the question. "Tani, Quinn, you got his confession in tape?" he asked. 

"Yeah, boss, we got it. Security camera footage of the attempted robbery too." 

"Good. I'll take a look at it when we get back. Good work." 

"Thanks." 

Steve turned and found Danny standing almost in his personal space, staring at him. "What's with the face?" 

"What face?" Steve sighed, tired of this line of questioning. His heart was still pounding a little and his emotions were frayed and all over the place and all he wanted to do was escape to the privacy of his office for a bit so he could get control of his emotions. 

Danny eyed him for a moment, seeming to be assessing him. Steve watched him uncertainty, not knowing what his partner was thinking. 

It felt like one moment they were looking at each other and in the time it took Steve to blink, they were hugging. Danny's arms enveloped him tightly, burying his face in Steve's shoulder as they held each other more than actually embraced each other. 

"Thanks for having my back," Danny murmured into his shoulder. "Unnecessary because I totally could have taken him on my own, but you know, it's the thought that counts. And uh, not that I needed you to say it cause that asshat's opinion meant jackshit to me but I appreciate what you said about me, that I'm, you know, attractive. I think you're, well, you're a catch too." 

Steve laughed, touched at Danny's words, and pulled away from the embrace so he could meet Danny's eyes as he said, "I love you, you know that?" 

Danny's eyes were warm. "Yeah, I love you too."

"Alright, about time! Now, kiss, please!" 

Steve and Danny jumped at Tani's exclamation in their ears, both men flushing as they looked at each other. 

"I think they forgot their earpieces were still on," Quinn crowed, sounding way too pleased with herself for Steve's liking. "That was quite the romantic speech right there, guys, so, whaddya say? I think Danny deserves a kiss after everything he said!" 

Danny looked at Steve, raising an eyebrow. They were still partly embracing, still standing in each other's space. "Well, what do you say?" Danny asked, offering Steve a smile that was part amused, part fond. "Should we listen to the kids?" 

Steve gazed at Danny for a moment and then reached up to turn his earpiece off, causing Danny to do the same. This was their moment. "For the record, I'm not doing this because they told me to," he informed Danny. 

Danny looked amused. Also calm, as if he had been waiting for this moment and wasn't worried now that it was finally here. "Then why _are_ you doing it?" 

For the first time that night, Steve's heart was pounding for a good reason. "Because I've wanted to for a long time," he murmured. 

Danny's eyes were twinkling as he leaned closer until only inches were between their lips and whispered, "Then shut up and kiss me, you neanderthal." 

So Steve did. 

END.


End file.
